A Look Inside The Yankee Universe (and around the world of baseball)

Game 31: Yankees vs. Tigers (Here’s Johnny!)

The Yankees renew acquaintances with Johnny Damon, Phil Coke and Austin Jackson in Detroit as they kick off a four game series against the Tigers.

Game one features a matchup of journeyman spot starters: Sergio Mitre steps in for Andy Pettitte, whose start is being skipped as a precautionary response to earlier elbow discomfort, while Brad Thomas fills in for Dontrell Willis, who was scratched with the flu. Only Randy Winn has a history against Thomas, while Miguel Cabrera and Adam Everett are the only Tigers to face Mitre.

One day after DHing, Jorge Posada will crouch behind the plate for the first time since May 3. Posada’s ability to catch opens up the DH slot for Marcus Thames, who returns to Comerica Park after spending six seasons with the Tigers. Thames has had a very difficult time in the field, so he may (i.e., should) be limited to that role going forward. If that is going to be the case, Randy Winn will need to make the most of his starts against lefties, the first of which comes tonight.

The Yankees also made another roster move before the game, promoting Ivan Nova from Triple-A Scranton. To make room for Nova, Romolu Sanchez, who contributed 3 2/3 scoreless innings in last night game, was sent back to Scranton. With Mitre starting and Aceves still recovering from a bad back, the Yankees will once again be in the position of needing innings from the bullpen, especially considering Mitre will be limited to about 75 pitches. Nova, who had been starting in Scranton, should be able to provide innings and will likely be the first man out of the bullpen if Mitre isn’t able to go five innings. The 23 year-old Nova, whose stock as a prospect has been rising, is 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA in 37 innings for Scranton.

vs. Brad Thomas

PA

BA

OBP

SLG

HR

RBI

Derek Jeter SS

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Nick Swisher RF

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Mark Teixeira 1B

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Alex Rodriguez 3B

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Robinson Cano 2B

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Jorge Posada C

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Marcus Thames DH

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Brett Gardner CF

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Randy Winn LF

2

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Total

2

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

vs. Sergio Mitre

PA

BA

OBP

SLG

HR

RBI

Austin Jackson CF

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Johnny Damon DH

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Magglio Ordonez RF

0

0.200

0.200

0.200

0

0

Miguel Cabrera 1B

5

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

1

Brennan Boesch LF

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Brandon Inge 3B

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Scott Sizemore 2B

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Gerald Laird C

0

0.000

0.000

0.000

0

0

Adam Everett SS

5

0.400

0.400

0.600

0

0

Total

10

0.300

0.300

0.400

0

1

Yankees vs. Tigers

Season: 2010

Season: 2009

Season: 2008

All-Time

TIED: 0-0

NYY: 5-1

DET: 4-2

NYY: 1035-919

Before the game, the Tigers will hold a ceremony honoring Ernie Harwell. Part of the festivities will include Jose Feliciano singing the national anthem. In 1968, Harwell booked Feliciano to sing the anthem during the World Series. At the time, Feliciano’s non-traditional rendition was roundly criticized for being disrespectful.

Alex Rodriguez is one HR away from passing Frank Robinson into seventh place on the all-time HR list.

Miguel Cabrera has had a hit in all 15 regular season games he has played against the Yankees.

Austin Jackson (.371) and Cabrera (.370) currently have the top two batting averages in the American League.

Before this season, Brad Thomas last pitched in the major leagues in 2004. He spent the previous two seasons pitching in the Korean Baseball League.